With the production factors that support high-quality development and the fundamentals for the long-term improvement not changed, China is confident about keeping economic growth within a reasonable range for 2022, the state planner said on Tuesday.
Yuan Da, spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told a news conference the government will quickly roll out policy measures to boost domestic demand and study targeted measures to bolster industrial production.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 8.1 percent last year, the largest jump since 2011, official data showed on Monday. The expansion is slightly above the IMF and World Bank's expectations of 8 percent growth and beyond the 6 percent target set by the government.
Facing challenges brought by the pandemic, China has seen its economic activities cool down after a strong rebound in the first half of 2021. In the fourth quarter, its economy grew by 4 percent from a year earlier, a further deceleration from the 18.3 percent jump in the first quarter.
Yuan acknowledged that the economy faces many challenges in 2022, including weak consumption, constrained growth in investment and uncertainties in foreign trade, which has led to fluctuations in market expectations and corporate confidence.
"We will continue to step up monitoring and forecasting of the economy and study the policy tools in reserve, and roll out timely, relevant policy measures based on the need from the economic operations to ensure a stable, healthy and sustainable economic development," Yuan said.
China's central bank on Monday unexpectedly cut the borrowing costs of its medium-term loans for the first time since April 2020, with some market analysts expecting more policy easing this year to support economic growth.
Source: CGTN, Reuters
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